Motor operated bowling ball cleaner having a rotary brush



Nov.20, 1951 s. A. JANKowsKl 2,575,814

MOTOR OPERATED BOWLING BALL CLEANER HAVING A ROTARY BRUSH Filed Nov. s,1946 I l Z4- 24 I HTTKS Patented Nov. 20, 1951 MOTOR OPERATED BOWLINGBALL ER HAVING A ROTARY BRUSH Stanley A. J ankowsk, Detroit, ltlich.Application November s, 194s, serial No. 708,645

1 claim. l

This invention relates to ball cleaning devices, and in particular todevices for cleaning bowling balls. i

One object of this invention is to provide a bowling ball cleaningdevice which is easily manipulated and which is power-operated so as toefficiently clean the ball.

Another object is to provide a bowling ball cleaning device which islight and portable yet powerful so that it can be applied to the ballsone by one while they are on the ball rack.

Another object is to provide a bowling ball cleaning device having atriple armed rotary support with arcuate brushes thereon which arebrought into engagement with the ball and are self-centering andself-aligning thereon, thereby facilitating the cleaning of the ball andincreasing the rapidity with which it can be accomplished.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description of the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a bowling ball cleaning device accordingto a preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the device shown in Figure l; and

Figure 3 is a cross-section through one of the brush arms and brushestaken along the line 3 3 in Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 and 2 show a preferredform of the bowling ball cleaning device of this invention as consistinggenerally of a motor IIJ, a handle assembly II and a rotary brush unitI2 as applied to cleaning a ball I3 resting upon a support I4 such as aball rack. The motor IB is preferably an electric motor of any suitabletype and receives electric current through a cable I5 connected to asource of electric current. The motor Il) has a motor shaft I6 to whichis connected the hub Il of the brush unit I2 as by the pin I-8 (Figure2) The motor I0 is surrounded by a split ring I9 having projecting ears20 at the opposite ends thereof. The ears 2U are forced toward oneanother by a bolt 2 I, thereby tightening the ring I9 around the casing22 of the motor I. Projecting outward in opposite directions from thering I9 are spaced parallel arms 23, the outer ends of which areinterconnected by rods 24 passing lengthwise through handles 25 of woodor other suitable material.

The brush unit I2 has arcuate arms 25 extending downward from the hubIl, these arms being preferably three in number and equally spacedaround the circumference of a ring 2l interconnecting the outer end ofthe arms 26. The ring 2l passes through holes 28 in the outer ends ofthe arms 26 and is secured thereto as by the pins 29. The arms 26 areprovided with radial holes 3D (Figure 3) through which pass fasteners3I, such as screws, into the arcuate backs 32 of curved brushes 33having bristles 34 with their ends arranged in an arcuate path havingapproximately the same curvature as the bowling ball I3.

In the operation of the invention, the operator grasps the handles 25 ofthe device and carries it to the place where the bowling balls I3 to becleaned are located. Having energized the electric cable I5 byconnecting it to a source of electric current, he causes the motor shaftI6 and brush unit I2 to rotate. l-le then lowers the device over thebowling ball I3 and swings the device to and fro to roll the ball backand forth as the brush unit I 2 is rotated by the motor shaft I6. Thecleaning action is preferably carried out with the aid of a suitablesoap and water or with some other type of detergent. The soap and watersolution may be applied in any suitable manner such as by lowering thebrush unit I2 of 'the device into a bucket containing the cleaningsolution. When one ball has been cleaned by thus rolling it to and fro,the operator removes the cleaning device from it and brings it down uponthe next ball, repeating the operation. In this manner, each of thebowling balls in the ball rack I4 is quickly and easily cleaned. Whiletwo or more arms 26 may be provided, it has been found preferably to usethree because the device is thereby automatically centered upon the ballI3. In this manner all portions of the surface of the ball are reachedby the brushes 34 and are thoroughly cleaned.

While I have shown and described myI invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the same is to be limited only by the appended claim,for many changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention.

What I claim is:

A portable bowling ball cleaning device comprising a motor having avertical shaft extending downwardly therefrom, a handle connected tosaid motor, a plurality of arms connected to said shaft below said motorand radiating outwardly therefrom in circumferentially-spacedrelationship, a brush secured to each arm having a concaveball-contacting surface, said brush surface being arcuately curvedoutwardly and downward- 1y in a plane passing through said shaft, and anannular guard member secured to and interconnecting the outer endportions of said arms, said guard member being arranged to extendthrough openings in the lower ends of said arms and anchored in placetherein to interbrace said arms.

STANLEY A. JANKOWSKI.

The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED Number Name Y Date ii 444,710 McPherson Jan.' f3", 1891i NumberNumber 317,983 ,1.318,71 llii 558,375 l 1502-1415 Name Date BlockburgerAug. 1, 1893 Hale Apr. 3, 1906 Mudra July 8, 1924 ZWeig Apr. 24, 1928Heusser Aug. 12, 1930 Albany Dec. 22, 1931 Griffiths Mar. 14, 1939FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Jan. 22, 1902 cyreatritain June 15,1907 France" Mar. 26, 1913 Germany Sept. 6, 1932 Austria July 10, 1937

